I'm actually quite on the fence about YOUNG AT HEART, a documentary that actually has some of the key ingredients to satisfy me but that, I fear, ends up manipulating me too much in the process.
I am a huge fan of having music in one's life. I truly believe that music enriches our lives. It nurtures our souls. And I can't imagine living a day without it. I also like stories that uplift us, and I believe that each human being has a story to tell. We ARE stories. Those two elements are both very present in YOUNG AT HEART.
Director Stephen Walker follows a chorus of 70 and 80-somethings as the work with madman choir director Bob Cilman on a concert of unexpected material: contemporary popular music that runs the gamut of funk to punk to alternative rock. I'm talking James Brown, Coldplay, The Ramones. Given the premise, there's virtually no way you don't have fun watching the film and watching these old folks perform.
But here's my concern: are we laughing WITH them or AT them? I'm not so sure. I think there's an "aw, look at the cute old people" factor that the film works up, and it might be more condescending than genuine.
The other issue regarding the way the film is constructed is that its uplifting message of geriatrics reclaiming their youth is intercut with the very real drama of the mortality of the choir members, some of whom die during rehearsals, leaving the songs they were to lead vocal in limbo to be fixed for performance or forgotten completely. It's terribly sad, but also a bit manipulative. It doesn't help that the director puts the choir in front of prisoners for a performance, a move that is as obviously manipulative as it is dramatically powerful.
And yet it's hard not to get a little choked up to see an old man hooked up to an oxygen tank sing Coldplay's "Fix You" with a deep, Johnny Cash-like vibrato. In fact, the song takes on new meaning. I can imaging Chris Martin watching this and sobbing.
In the end, I think YOUNG AT HEART was a passable attempt at a documentary film, but might have benefitted more in better hands. Or maybe I'm a cold-hearted prick. I can't decide which.
2.0 out of 4
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